Just around the bend
by WngedFerret64
Summary: Dipper and Mabel have seen a lot of weird stuff in their time- gnomes, zombies, long-lost twin brothers- but when they're thrown in the middle of a demon case on their way back to California, they have to figure out how to cope with a whole new spectrum of strange. Rated T because of some gore and language.


They've seen a lot this past summer- gnomes, telepathic midgets, a Summerween trickster, even a demon who looked like a stale, flavorless Dorito. But nothing, not a single one of these past events, could have prepared them for what they faced on the way back to California.

They had just gotten off the bus at their first stop, a simple rendezvous to refill the gas tank and let everyone use the bathroom and buy some snacks. However, when a certain pink-sweatered teen loaded the counter up with bags of gummi bears and cans of soda, the cashier didn't respond... at all.

"Hello?"

The cashier stood there, staring into some undetermined spot on the wall, not reacting at all to Mabel's attempts to communicate.

"Are you okay?"

She waved her hand in front of the man's face, even going so far as to snap a few times before pursing her lips and settling her elbows on the counter. "I guess if you won't respond, then these are free. Thank you!"

More than a little miffed that the cashier, whose name she judged to be "Kevin" based on his nametag, wouldn't move, Mabel scooped all of her goodies into her sweater and picked the end of it up to make a pocket. She started walking to the door, looking back every few feet to see if Kevin had moved.

He hadn't.

She had one foot out the door when the security kicked in, detecting Mabel's lack of payment and blaring loudly. She whipped her head around, looking to see if any of the customers in the gas station were going to start yelling at her. They all looked the same as Kevin, all standing completely still, looking off into the distance with blank stares and open mouths.

Mabel slowly turned back to the door, her head immediately smacking into someone's stomach.

"Aah!"

Poor Mabel was so shocked she let go of her sweater, all of her treats spilling onto the floor- along with her. She scooted backwards, only looking up once she had gotten what she deemed to be a safe distance away from the person.

And when she looked 'up', she looked up... and up... and up... how tall was this guy?.. oh wait, there's his head. And he looks mad. Oops.

"Sorry, mr... uh... what's your name?"

The man took a second to process what was in front of him before jumping a bit, his face softening into... was that sympathy?

"Sorry, that was my fault. My name's... uh..."

He looked around, his eyes flicking to different objects until they came to rest on a box of Reece's Puffs.

"Reece. My name's Reece."

Mabel squinted, nodding slowly as she pushed herself up to a sitting position. "Oookay, mr. Reece, nice meeting you. I need to get going now, though..."

She began slowly gathering her bags of gummi bears, beginning to tremble after a while because of the constant scrutiny of 'Reece'. Dipper chose that moment to emerge from the bathroom, seeing Mabel's predicament and rushing over to help. He pulled her up until she was standing and led her out of the gas station, glaring at 'Reece' until the twins were all the way inside the bus.

"Mabel, what happened? Who was that guy?"

"I dunno, Dipper. He said his name was Reece, but I don't believe him."

They looked out the window for a bit, watching as the man tried to buy a pack of beer and a display case of salt, of all things, but he had the same difficulty Mabel did. The man finally got fed up, taking something out of his pocket and leaning in close to Kevin.

Mabel pressed her face against the glass, straining her eyes to see what 'Reece' had.

Knife.

It was a knife.

Barely speaking above a whisper, Mabel relayed this new information in horror. "Dipper, that guy has a knife!"

She continued watching 'Reece's' actions, her eyes following his hand as it drew a thin line along Kevin's arm with the tip of the blade. She expected beads of blood; but what she didn't expect was an unearthly glow coming from where the blade met Kevin's skin. 'Reece' nodded, like this confirmed some suspicion he had, and then plunged the knife directly into Kevin's stomach.

Mabel screamed along with Dipper, and 'Reece's' gaze immediately snapped over to the twins, the rapidly flickering light from Kevin's dying body illuminating his face. The twins ducked down, tears already beginning to spill from Mabel's eyes as she curled up into as tight a ball as she could.

"Dipper, what was that?"


End file.
